Alexis Dufresne, who fights with Team Quest out of Dan Henderson’s gym in Temecula, makes her UFC debut against Sarah Moras on The Ultimate Fighter Finale on Sunday at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. (Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer)

Don’t bad-mouth Ronda Rousey around her. Yes, she and Rousey have met, though it was brief and violent.

And don’t tell the 23-year-old bantamweight what to do.

After just two years of MMA training, Dufresne will make her UFC debut against Sarah Moras on Sunday on the undercard of The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale at Mandalay Bay Events Center.

The fight is taking place at a catchweight of 143 pounds, it was announced at Saturday’s weigh-ins. According to a UFC source, Dufresne informed UFC officials Saturday morning she was unlikely to make weight, and she and Moras agreed on the catchweight. Dufresne stepped on the scales at 143, Moras at 139.

Dufresne is a five-time International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation world champion and four-time Pan-American champion.

But Dufresne didn’t start training in jiu-jitsu until she was 18. Before that, she was racing dirt bikes, which oddly paid off when she first hit the gym.

“I think I was already athletic from that. I mean, it’s kind of hard to be whipping a 300-pound bike around in the air and I was able to do it easily,” Dufresne said. “So when I went into fighting. I had core strength already, which a lot of girls didn’t have. So I think that helped a lot and only inspired me to keep training.”

Shortly into her jiu-jitsu training, Dufresne went to a grappling tournament in San Diego at the behest of a coach from her former gym.

It was then that she and her white belt met Rousey, who was a year removed from her bronze-medal performance at the 2008 Olympics and a year away from her first amateur MMA bout.

“I never followed the sport, never did anything, so I had a big stupid grin on my face, walk to the middle, shake her hand. I got flipped on my ass quicker than I even saw coming and armbarred,” Dufresne said with a laugh. “I was like ‘WHOA! What just happened?’

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“So honestly, when that happened, that was all I needed. I never want that to happen again in a tournament, but at the same time, that was bad ass. I just kept with jiu-jitsu over and over and over again and became a fan of her. If I did fight her, it’d be an honor, it wouldn’t be a challenge, so it’d be cool.”

The Rousey storyline doesn’t end there. Dufresne’s pro MMA career has been similar to the UFC champ’s. She has won all five of her fights in the first round, including a 45-second ground-and-pound stoppage of Kim Couture in February.

Like Rousey, her stand-up has been the latest focus when training at Dan Henderson’s Team Quest gym in Temecula with black belt Ricardo Feliciano.

“I submitted my first two fights quickly, then my teammates gave me a little bit of crap, telling me I was in a cage, not a mat,” the Temecula resident said. “So I got my next two wins in TKOs, and now everybody’s saying I’m a stand-up fighter and (Moras is) going to try to take me down. What she doesn’t know is I’m a five-time world champion in jiu-jitsu. Have fun.”

Today’s fight on UFC Fight Pass should be fun considering Dufresne and Moras have been verbally sparring after the fight was announced two months ago.

Moras (3-1), who was on Miesha Tate’s team and competed against Team Rousey on Season 18 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” says Dufresne is trying to mimic Rousey and should take it up with Rousey.

“Why don’t I call the champ out? Well, dummy, I’m calling you out because I’m fighting you. I’m not fighting the champ. I’m fighting you,” Dufresne said. “I’m being me. If she doesn’t like me, tough. I’m gonna be me. I’m a fan of Rousey. I’m just gonna say it. I like her attitude. She’s an amazing grappler.”

As for today’s fight, Dufresne wishes it was already here. She likes to fight. She likes to punch people in the face. And she admits it’s weird, but she likes being punched in the face.

In fact, she said she’ll be disappointed if she gets another quick finish against Moras.

“Well, I know she was in ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ and to her in her head, I think that makes her about 30 percent better. I’m not sure, but that’s what it feels like,” Dufresne said. “She says she’s gonna be taking me down and submitting me in my fight, so good luck. And I can’t wait to fight her.”